Heavy duty movers

The heavy and moving equipment industry offers far more than bulldozers and cranes

Whether it is building construction, civil engineering or road building, without heavy and moving machinery and equipment these sectors cannot function or thrive. This is especially relevant in the UAE, where the economy is fed by the mammoth projects under construction, which in turn are being facilitated by the moving and heavy equipment industry.

According to Fida Hussain, CEO, Infinity Aviation, the UAE market is home to more than 35 per cent of the heavy equipment available worldwide.

"There is a general scepticism about the market and it is being speculated that it is about to hit its saturation point, but that point is still five to seven years away. The capacity to absorb more heavy equipment is in direct proportion to the construction activity in the UAE.

"The construction boom, which was previously concentrated mostly in Dubai, is now spreading to every emirate in the UAE. This expansion has offered the heavy equipment industry extended sustainability.

"Therefore, even if construction in Dubai slows down in the near future, the new projects in other states of the UAE would continue to support the heavy equipment industry for an extended period of time," he says.

UAE leads from the front
According to figures announced at Bauma, an international trade fair on construction equipment, building material and mining machinery which took place in Munich recently, the fastest growing construction markets in the Middle East are the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

As an acknowledgment to these growing markets, the Arabian Peninsula was chosen as the partner region for Bauma this year. Over the next few years, the construction boom is likely to have significant effect on other countries in the region, particularly Kuwait and Qatar.

"The development in the construction sector in the Middle East is very impressive. Within the last few decades, the UAE and other countries in the Middle East have undergone rapid changes, and have transformed into modern, industrialised and booming economies," says Henrike Burmeister, Manager Communications, Capital Goods, Messe Muenchen International, the organisers of Bauma.

"The level and development of the export figures of construction equipment and building material machinery to countries of the Arabian Peninsula reflect the rapid development of the construction industry. We are certain that this trend will go on in future.

"The export volume of the German manufacturers to the partner region countries increased by a total of 40 per cent to more than 400 million euros (about Dh2,000 million) from 2005 to 2006.

"The lion's share of this volume was machinery and equipment, worth nearly 154 million euros (about Dh762 million), exported to the UAE, and nearly 139 million euros (about Dh688 million) exported to Saudi Arabia.

"With these figures, both countries are the most rapidly developing construction markets in the region. Germany together with Japan and the US are the three most important supplying countries that deliver construction equipment and building material machinery to the Middle East," says Burmeister.

Market dynamics
"The market is bullish and is growing at a fast pace. It will continue to do so in the coming years," says Rashid Khan, Manager of Bobcat Sales and Service. Bobcat is currently the world's top ranked skid steer loader manufacturer.

"FAMCO's Volvo truck division witnessed a record breaking year (2006) with an all time high sales figure. "Our sales grew 55 per cent year-on-year ," says Joe Lahoud, Divisional Manager of FAMCO's Truck and Bus division.

"According to Lahoud, the main challenge in the moving and heavy equipment industry is forecasting the level of demand for the UAE, and then managing a sufficient supply quantity from the manufacturer. Lead times have also increased dramatically due to robust demand for trucks globally.

Zenath Environmental Engineering Services expanded into the generator business in 2006 and in a short span have leased out about 400 generators and sold 450.

According to Arup Roy, Senior Manager, Business Development, Zenath Environmental Engineering Services, generators play a vital role in the heavy equipment industry as they form the backbone of any construction site.

"Within the generator market, there are two segments - sale and short- or long-term rental.

Leasing is the way to go
"The leasing segment has shown higher growth primarily because contractors don't want to tie up capital and prefer to put in their money in core areas and choose to outsource auxiliary services such as temporary power," says Roy.

Paul Austin Price, Deputy General Manager of Al Bakhit has also witnessed growth in the number of requests for rentals and long-term leases over the past few years. Al Bakhit represents Sany, the world's leading manufacturers of mobile and static pumps, concrete pumps and placing booms.

The growth in the moving and heavy equipment market is reflected in brands such as Sany, which despite being assembled in China with parts from Europe is gradually cornering its share in the market.

"When Sany entered the market four years ago, a number of people were reluctant to take on the product. Gradually, the brand has started to win market share as its quality is similar to its European counterparts even though its prices are more affordable, " says Price.

FAMCO offers special in-house training programmes for drivers and operators, especially when it comes to driving and operating heavy and moving equipment.

"We are the market leaders and none of our trucks are delivered without driver training conducted by professional trainers certified by Volvo. Moreover, one of Volvo's core values is safety, so it is important for us to deliver trucks to the market in a responsible manner. The patented Volvo engine brake also provides high braking power and safety," says Lahoud.

According to Khan, operation and maintenance training is an important part of the service Bobcat provides.

"A company cannot survive without giving proper training to its customers. Each time a customer buys a new model of a machine, we give them updated information and training.

"Training has become an important part of the moving and heavy equipment industry. Whenever we fill in tenders for government departments and Dubai Municipality and DEWA projects, we always factor in operator and maintenance costs," he says.

New developments
FAMCO and Volvo recently launched a revolutionary new powertraining based on the combination of 'I-Shift' transmission and a 13-litre engine.

"This highly efficient, economic and user-friendly driveline will take the commercial transport industry to another dimension of increased profitability and efficiency. This unique system, which is basically a mechanical gearbox with an automatic shifting mechanism, ensures improved drivability and much improved fuel efficiency," says Lahoud.

According to a press report issued during Bauma, environmental protection, ergonomic design and long service-life are coming to the forefront in the development of new construction machinery and equipment.

New and improved technology and materials ensure optimum productivity and user comfort. Manufacturers are increasingly paying more attention to the subject of ergonomic design.

The equipment they produce is, therefore, easier to operate and are lighter as well. Instead of metals, more plastic is being used and mechanical operation is being increasingly replaced by electronically operated equipment or computer technology.

New methods of reducing vibration are helping to make the job easier for operators. All the development is leading to greater efficiency and work output.

Multi-functionality is key
Noticeably stronger is the trend towards multifunctionality. Work that was previously done with two or even three different tools is now being carried out using only one piece of equipment.

GPS systems are being used on construction and building materials machinery to prevent theft and GSM technology is being employed to monitor the status of whole fleets of machinery.

A wide variety of improvements are also being showcased in the area of environmental protection. Dust and noise emissions have been further reduced through new protective features and insulation materials.

Diesel engines with low emission levels are being developed and used, thus contributing to cleaner air.

Roy predicts that in short- to medium-term gas fired sets will become popular due to growing concern over the environment.

"With global warming becoming a reality and emission norms becoming more stringent all over the world, it is bound to come into force in the Middle East. LNG (liquified natural gas) will become even more popular as it contains low emissions, and it is an eco-friendly gas," he says.